Bowling form indicating device



Jan. 31,- 1967 s. P. JOLLEY 3,301,559

BOWLING FORM INDIGATING DEVICE Filed Aug. 19, 1964 INVENTOR.

.STA/V ,0. JOLLE) United States Patent 3,301,559 BOWLING FORM INDICATINGDEVICE 'Stanley P. Jolley, Chewelah, Wash. (E. 24523 River Road, OtisOrchard, Wash. 99027) Filed Aug. 19, 1964, Ser. No. 390,593 4 Claims.(Cl. 273-54) This invention relates to the art of bowling, and morespecifically to a device which is mounted on the wrist of the bowlershand and performs to indicate to the bowler the errors that he is makingduring the course of delivering a bowling ball down an alley.

The art of bowling is learned after extensive practice and one of theprincipal areas of difficulty to the learner is to be found in hisinability to identify the errors which he is introducing to his throwduring the course of delivery of the ball. Due to the speed of movementof the forearm and wrist, it would take a high speed camera to pick upthe intricacies of the motions which are taking place. My invention isdirected towards a device which can be worn on the wrist of the playerwhich subsequent to a throw will indicate to the player the erringtendencies which are involved in his ball delivery.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a forklike tubular channel structure along which balls may run. This structureis secured on a pad which is fastened around the wrist of a player. Theballs are caused to move down the'several channels depending on themovement of the wrist and so give indication to the player of ,anydetrimental movements which he may be making during the course of hisball delivery.

A further object of this invention is to provide an indicating devicefor bowlers which is simple in construction, and which may be wornwithout causing obstruction to the player during the course of the balldelivery.

A full understanding of the details of the invention, together withfurther advantages, will become apparent by reference to the followingdetailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken inconjunction with the attached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the indicating device which is constructedaccording to my invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the forearm of a person during thecourse of delivery of a bowling ball.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the bowlers hand and wrist showing the deviceof my invention mounted in position on the wrist.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged view showing the orientation of thetubular channels in which small balls are free to move.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional side elevation taken along the lines 5-5 ofFIG. 4..

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views in the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the numeral 6 represents a flatmounting plate having two opposed parallel side edges 7 which extend inonedirection with two straight connecting edges 8 which meet centrallyof the side edges at an obtuse angle with each other. The other end ofthe side edges 7 extend with further connecting edges 9 which form asubstantially acute intersection at 10. The strap 11 extends normallyfrom one of the side edges 7 and has a tapering end 12, and is furtherprovided with a series of spaced holes '13 as seen clearly in FIG. 1. Asecond strap 14 extends normally from the remaining side edge 7 andterminates with a buckle 15 having a tang 16 for selectively engaging inany of the spaced holes 13 formed in the strap 11.

Secured on the mounting plate 6 is a raised transparent tube 17 whichextends centrally and parallel between the side edges 7 of the plate.The tube 8 has openings intermediate the length thereof whichcommunicate with two further tubes 18 and 19 disposed at an acute anglewith the tube 8 and in the same plane. The section of the tube 8disposed in the vicinity of the intersection 10 provides a reservoirdenoted by the letter R in FIG. 1, and this reservoir initially receivesthree small balls 20. The other end of the tube 8 is denoted as a pocketX, and the pockets formed at the extremities of the tubes 18 and 19shall be denoted as pockets A and 0 respectively.

The device is secured about the players wrist 21 such that the reservoirR extends towards the palm 22 of the players hand with the tube 8extending in central alignment with the forearm 23.

During the throw the player holds the ball 24 and whilst approaching histhrow the three balls will'remain in the reservoir R. If he makes astraight throw and follow through the shots will drop straight back intothe pocket X and thus indicate such an achievement to the bowler. If thebowler has a slight tendency to cross arm movement, two balls may fallinto pocket X and the third into the pocket marked 0. A more extremecross-arm movement would lead to all balls falling into the pocket 0. Ifthe bowler moves his arm to the right, assuming he is right handed, theballs will fall into the pocket marked A. In a similar manner if thebowler fails to follow through after releasing the ball 24, the threesmall balls 20 will remain in the reservoir R. In this way the bowlercan check his movement during the release of the ball. The device notonly permits checking on the follow through of ball delivery but willalso give indication with regard to his finishing position on lanes,such as dropping shoulders or rushing to the foul line.

The tubes are of such dimension that the small balls stay in singleline, and it is recommended that the tubes be formed in transparentplastic material.

Having described the invention with considerable particularity, itshould be understood that various modifications may be made to theprecise detail thereof, without departing from the scope or spirit ofthe invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bowling form indicating device for mounting on the wrist of abowler, and comprising a flat plate, a strap extending from the sides ofthe plate around said wrist, a transparent first tube secured on theplate extending normally with respect to the strap, further tubes eachextending from an opposite side of the first tube and communicatingtherewith at an acute angle, and balls mounted to move freely within thefirst tube and the further tubes.

2. A bowling form indicating device according to claim 1, wherein thereare two of said further tubes secured in the same plane as said firsttube, said further tubes intersecting the first tube at one pointintermediate the length of the first tube.

Patented Jan. 31; 1967 3. A bowling form indicating device according toclaim 2, wherein there are three balls within the tubes, said ballsbeing restrained to single file within any one of said tubes.

4. A bowling form indicating device for mounting on the wrist of abowler, and comprising a plate, a strap securing the plate about saidwrist, a first transparent tube secured to the plate and extendingparallel and centrally of the wrist, two further tubes each intersectingthe first tube intermediate the length thereof and extending at an acute:angle with respect thereto in a direction diverging towards the forearmof the bowler, balls restrained within the first tube and the further.tubes and individually free to move therein from one to another in anydirection.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Savidge 273113 OReilly 273-115 Roberts.

Fletcher 273-122 Butan 27354 Morrison 27354 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, PrimaryExaminer.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Examiner.

1. A BOWLING FORM INDICATING DEVICE FOR MOUNTING ON THE WRIST OF ABOWLER, AND COMPRISING A FLAT PLATE, A STRAP EXTENDING FROM THE SIDES OFTHE PLATE AROUND SAID WRIST, A TRANSPARENT FIRST TUBE SECURED ON THEPLATE EXTENDING NORMALLY WITH RESPECT TO THE STRAP, FURTHER TUBES EACHEXTENDING FROM AN OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE FIRST TUBE AND COMMUNICATINGTHEREWITH AT AN ACUTE ANGLE, AND BALLS MOUNTED TO MOVE FREELY WITHIN THEFIRST TUBE AND THE FURTHER TUBES.